Celebrating its 25th anniversary this summer, Smokey Mo’s TX BBQ touts itself as the “best neighborhood BBQ in Texas.” With a quarter-century of experience serving slow-smoked meat alongside warm comfort food faves, the brand is stoking the barbecue momentum across Central Texas.
Craig Haley has been Smokey Mo’s president since 2021, bringing with him two decades of operational management in developing and building various QSR brands. When he joined, the brand was at 16 locations, but has since grown to 21. The most recent opening came in May in Harker Heights, Texas, but Haley notes that more expansion is soon to come. The chain earns more than $31 million in annual sales.
Delivering pizzas and working in restaurants in his youth, Haley studied computer science at Texas A&M University. However, upon graduating, he decided to remain in the hospitality world due to his fondness for the restaurant industry. “I loved the teamwork aspect, I loved the fact that we were taking care of guests, the energy of it, and also the fact that when you left at the end of the day, you really felt a sense of accomplishment,” Haley says.
After working his way up from kitchen manager to general manager to restaurant research and development, Haley joined Smokey Mo’s after being COO for a different barbecue brand. Being born and raised in Texas, Haley says he knows good barbecue. While the food served was similar between both brands, Haley found that his past experiences had prepared him well to bring what he had learned to Smokey Mo’s.
Smokey Mo’s was founded by Morris Melchor in Cedar Park, Texas, in 2000. Melchor worked as GM at Haley’s past company before he left to begin the chain. The initial Smokey Mo’s unit was 1,100 square feet, but more units soon began to pop up nearby. Haley points to the great food, clean environment, and attention to being friendly with guests as keys to its early success.
Although Melchor exited the brand years ago and is no longer active, the cartoon mascot of his likeness is seen throughout the branding. Additionally, he and his family’s recipes are still used across the menu. Haley commends Melchor’s original concept, noting that the Smokey Mo’s of today would not be possible without the “great foundation that Morris and his family built,” along with its “tremendous bones, great recipes, and great operating system.”
Around five years ago, Haley says, “We felt that we could come in and professionalize the brand a little bit, and also hone in on the design of the stores to make them more guest-friendly and [more replicable for franchising].”
Still today, the brand aims to be a convenient stop for diners, where customers would be able to fit in a hearty Texas-sized meal during their short lunch break. In focusing on the interests of the diners, Smokey Mo’s goes a step further, ingraining itself within the community. “If you lived in our community, [Smokey Mo’s] would be your barbecue restaurant,” Haley says. “It’s a place where you know the people there, and the GM is somebody who is going to take care of you.”
Especially in Texas, barbecue is the chosen food for most events, he says. The brand frequently gives food and support to nearby high schools, football booster clubs, and community events in the smaller towns and suburbs in which they are located. “Food is a part of all big events, even holidays. You gather around the food,” says Haley. “As well as community events, like weddings or graduations. What’s great about Smokey Mo’s in particular is that the food is extremely portable, it’s just as good when it’s off-site as it is in the dining room.”
While the brand’s recipes have been family favorites for longer than the company has been open, its store interiors are not outdated. Smokey Mo’s five newest stores feature glossy stained wood and shining white tile across the walls, and guests seat themselves with a cafeteria-style tray of freshly smoked goodies. In the newer builds, the brand has also decided to innovate depending on the nearby surroundings. Some locations have drive-thrus while others have patios.
During his four years with Smokey Mo’s, Haley says he has shifted the brand’s focus toward three major parts: people, the prototype, and the menu. “The people that work for us are the most important part, and really trying to build a culture of having people who care about the product and the guests has been one of the most important things that we’ve done,” says Haley.
Another facet for Haley has been curating the experience of classic Texas barbecue inside of the restaurant, having guests see the pits where the meat is smoked, smelling the smoke, and seeing their food being prepared through the open kitchens. He says this prototype and layout has created a consistently fast and friendly service.
“We already had great recipes, I mean, Morris knew barbecue, he had been in it for 50 years,” Haley says. “He knew how to cook brisket, how to spice it, how to season it. But [we’ve] created a process around it so that we can be more consistent with it on a day-to-day basis so that we can teach it to new hires.”
Smokey Mo’s has also shifted its menu within its 25 years of business, including menu innovation and enhancing its side plate offerings, such as the loaded Chopper Baker potato and green beans with bacon. The brand has also added new items, including the pork belly burnt ends.
Smokey Mo’s has big dreams to bring its barbecue to the rest of the state. “We really believe there’s a lot of green space in Texas for what we do and how we do it,” Haley says, “really to deliver the quality of barbecue in the small-box format that we do.”
Haley refers to the units as “small box,” meaning that each store, around 2,500 square feet on average, has a more local feeling and cozy neighborhood atmosphere.
In the brand’s infancy, Melcher chose to add more locations in Leander, Georgetown, and Liberty Hill, all towns near the Austin suburb of Cedar Park, rather than immediately heading to the bigger city. Today, Smokey Mo’s has no locations in city centers.
“[The choice of locations] shows that we can have a lot of restaurants within a small community, so all the units are in Williamson County for the most part,” Haley says. “But we are certainly not discounting Austin. I think that’s part of our growth pattern, and our desire is to grow corporate stores all throughout Austin.”
Haley hints the brand would be open to expanding outside of the Lone Star State, saying “I think Texas barbecue plays well all over the United States. It’s gained so much momentum over the last few years and the barbecue space is growing tremendously.”
“[Texas BBQ] is something that people are excited to try, and when we build these Smokey Mo’s in other regions, I think they’re gonna do really well,” he continued. “For us, we still have so many opportunities just in Texas right now, but if the right partner came to us, we’d certainly consider it.”
Over the next five to 10 years, Smokey Mo’s hopes to begin taking up space in the larger cities of Austin and San Antonio with both franchise and corporate stores.
